Chicken Florentine for Two
Using fresh spinach rather than frozen for this recipe for two allowed us to control the amount of water in the sauce, which could wash out the flavor. We first cooked the spinach until it was wilted and then let it drain to remove excess liquid. We browned the chicken in the skillet before transferring it to a plate so that we could reuse the skillet to build a flavorful yet quick sauce. Adding the cooked spinach and any accumulated chicken juices back to the sauce warmed the spinach through and added more chicken flavor to the sauce. We topped the chicken with this flavorful spinach mixture, as well as some Parmesan cheese for an added salty punch.
Ingredients
- 2 6- to 8-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- Salt and pepper
- 2 Tbls. vegetable oil
- 6 oz. 6 cups baby spinach
- 1 small shallot minced
- 1 garlic clove minced
- ½ cup chicken broth
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ¼ tsp. grated lemon zest plus 1 teaspoon juice
Instructions
Chicken Preparation
- Place chicken between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and pound to even 1/2-inch thickness. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper; set aside. To make this even easier, try to find the pre-cut Perdue chicken breasts
Spinach Preparation
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add spinach and 1/8 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until wilted, about 2 minutes. Transfer spinach to a colander set in the sink and allow any excess liquid to drain off. Wipe skillet clean with paper towels.
- Draining the wilted spinach in a colander rids it of excess moisture that would water down the sauce.
Cooking The Chicken
- Heat remaining 1 Tbls. oil in the now empty skillet over medium heat until just smoking. Cook the chicken until it is golden brown and registers 160 degrees, about 5 mins. per side. Transfer the chicken to a plate and tent with aluminum foil.
Sauce
- Add shallot and garlic to a skillet and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Whisk in broth and cream, scraping up any browned bits, and bring to boil. Cook until reduced to about 2/3 cup, about 7 minutes. Off heat, stir in 2 tablespoons Parmesan and lemon zest and juice.
- Transfer chicken to individual plates and stir any accumulated chicken juices into a sauce. Season sauce with salt and pepper to taste. Stir spinach into the sauce to warm through. Top chicken with spinach and sauce and sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan. Serve.
- We like to serve this with a side of Seeds of Change Quinoa
